Musk and Altman feud (again) as AI CEOs trade barbs over platform manipulation

Published 12/08/2025, 16:42
Musk and Altman feud (again) as AI CEOs trade barbs over platform manipulation

Investing.com - The public dispute between tech CEO’s Elon Musk and Sam Altman reemerged Tuesday as the two exchanged accusations about algorithmic manipulation on their respective platforms.

The conflict reignited Monday when Musk accused Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) of promoting OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his own AI chatbot Grok on the App Store, calling it an "unequivocal antitrust violation" and threatening legal action. Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, responded by alleging Musk manipulates his X platform to benefit himself and harm competitors.

Tuesday saw the feud intensify after Altman’s response garnered over 3 million views, prompting Musk to write: "You got 3M views on your bullshit post, you liar, far more than I’ve received on many of mine, despite me having 50 times your follower count!" Altman replied with "Skill issue... or bots," teasing Musk for the large amount of internet bots on X.

Altman further challenged Musk to sign an affidavit declaring he had never directed changes to X’s algorithm to hurt competitors or help his own companies, promising to apologize if Musk complied. The exchange marks the latest chapter in their deteriorating relationship.

The recent spat continues a seemingly never-ending conflict between the two, beginning with their divergent visions for OpenAI, which they co-founded in 2015. Tensions emerging after Musk left the board in 2018 and criticized the organization’s shift toward commercialization and its Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) partnership, culminating in Musk’s founding of xAI and its subsequent creation of the Grok chatbot, as well as a 2024 lawsuit against Altman alleging fraud and betrayal.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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